Newport Harbor Sailing Foundation: Sailor Stories

Dylan Sih at the 2022 South Shores Championship

Results

Thank you so much for your generous support in allowing me to travel to Long Island, NY, to compete in the 2022 South Shores Championship. It was my first time sailing with my new crew, Dillon Garcia, so we were still trying to get in sync with each other. After 3 days of racing in intense heat, we finished 10th out of 78 teams, and although I was aiming for better, I know we have the potential to perform well as we still have big room for improvement.

I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the first day, but got rid of the butterflies once we had a clean start and a good first beat, putting ourselves in the top 5 to start off the day. However, things took a turn for the worse when we ran over our spinnaker sheets and shrimped the kite right before the reach set, causing us to finish 19th that race. Anyhow, we were able to bounce back and scored a 3, 10, 1 in the next three races of the day.

The next day, the wind was very similar to the first, although a little bit puffier and shiftier. We got off to a good start, punching off at mid pin, executing our game plan well, and winning the first race. The next three races were also sailed well, although we weren’t quite as launched off the line, so we finished with a 10, 6, 3. At the end of the day, the points were all super close: everyone in the top ten was within 12 points, so there was potential for big place movement.

Unfortunately, going into the last day, Dillon and I as a team got a little too intense and focused on the racing, and not enough on keeping ourselves hydrated and in prime condition to race. We had a bit of a tough day as we struggled to make decisions and act quickly, and ended up placing 10th overall.

Despite not performing at the level I would have liked, I still gained lots of experience and we as a team now understand how much work we need to put in to reach the highest level. Thank you so much again for all of your generosity! I really appreciate your help and am looking forward to continuing racing.

2022 C420 South Shores Championship
Blue Point, New York